Story Idea; regarding the Plasm Theory
After dropping off the seeds collected in Pikmin 3 with Alph and Brittany, Charlie decides to move to Hocotate and apply for a job in Hocotate Freight. Meanwhile, the President of the company (I'll refer to him as Syacho) steps down and retires, promoting Olimar to president. When Charlie applies for the job, he is easily accepted. "Had it not been for you and your crew, I would eventually have been a goner. Giving you the job is the least I can do to show my appreciation and respect," Olimar tells Charlie. But things quickly get serious as Olimar gives Charlie his first assignment. "Remember that pain in your neck Louie?" Olimar starts off. "Yeah, he depleted almost every drop of our food supply. You know why he wasn't on the Drake on our way home?" "I don't know what's gotten into the lad, but for some reason he abandoned ship when we weren't looking and stayed on PNF-404. My first assignment for you is to go look for him and bring him back when you do. I'll also send with you a R.O.B. (1) You also won't have to worry about edible supplies, need I mention. I also hope that you'll collect some treasure. Syacho took a lot of money out of the vault when he retired, and if that hole isn't filled soon, Hocotate can go out of business pretty soon." Charlie takes up the task. When the ship bought for exclusive use of Hocotate Freight staff, the Manta, enters PNF-404's atmosphere, it mysteriously malfunctions and hurtles toward the planet's surface, knocking Charlie out and scattering the R.O.B. throughout the planet in many pieces upon impact. When he wakes up, he sees a strange golden Onion, and a gold pikmin (2) idly standing in front of him. To Charlie's amazement, it speaks. "Bout time ya 'woke. Ahsee ye're in a bit of a pickle. How bout we buddy up? C'mon. There's an Onion ovah there that I been wantn'a get ta. Can ya go ahead 'n chuck me ovah there?" And so begins the tutorial. After this, it doesn't take too much more exploration for Charlie and the gold pikmin to find Louie under a branch, but he seems... different, somehow. Not long after this event, all of the pieces of R.O.B. will be recollected, letting you use the final captain usable in Story Mode. When the group get to a clearing in the final area, they are greeted by a face familiar to Charlie, and even more so to Louie. The Plasm Wraith. Louie walks forward and gets absorbed by the Wraith, and it starts speaking. "I must explain myself. Long ago, I reigned over a large region, able to eat whatever dumb Bulborb (3) or Blowhog I'd bother to hunt. I guess the pikmin did not like that, because every one of them attacked me, banished me into a rock, and launched it into space. Then, I was released, discovering my savior to be Olimar. My body was too incomplete for me to chase after him, however, so I was forced to wait until more of my body was released from the stone. A second time, Olimar returned, and this time he brought a friend. I used some of the stone to easily eliminate any pikmin in my path. But they were destroyed by his purple pikmin, and I had to escape. I lacked the energy to disintegrate, so I got attacked. I even got bitten. Later, I discovered that it was Louie who consumed me. I made him stay here while Olimar went back home, forcing Olimar to come back, giving me another chance to take him. But I couldn't fi d any more of that rock, and thus if I ambushed, I would have a very small chance of succeeding. So I just waited for the last of my body to return to me. When he returned, I crashed his ship with my regained power, so that he couldn't get home and escape my grasp. Then... you came. I couldn't afford to let anyone take my Olimar, so I crashed your ship. (4) Even still, you found Louie, and he had the willpower to reveal my location, and you ripped Olimar from my grasp despite my efforts, so I made Louie stay here again, in hope that Olimar will come back. Instead, it's you. I guess there isn't any harm to make a second reason for Olimar to come back out here." And the final boss battle begins. After the now complete Plasm Wraith is defeated, it calms down, admits defeat, and goes deep into the ocean, "never to resurface again." It also gets unlocked as a playable character in other modes. 1: Olimar designed R.O.B.s to do work until he found employees, since there weren't any more employees. 2: This gold pikmin is a captain that can carry treasure with other pikmin. 3: The Plasm Wraith learned everything that Louie knew by reading his mind, such as the fact that they referred to Bulborbs as such. 4: Why the Drake malfunctioned was left unexplained, and Pikmin 3 directly addressed this in the ending monologue of the best ending.